About the Blog

Venezuelan Politics and Human Rights, a blog hosted by the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), is a unique resource for journalists, policymakers, scholars, activists and others interested in understanding Venezuelan politics and human rights.

The contributors call it as they see it, providing insights on Venezuela’s politics that go beyond the polarized pro-Chavismo/anti-Chavismo debate. The views expressed in the posts are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect WOLA’s institutional positions.

The Bloggers

David Smilde, curator of the blog, is a WOLA Senior Fellow and the Charles A. and Leo M. Favrot Professor of Human Relations at Tulane University. He has lived in or worked on Venezuela since 1992. He is co-editor of Venezuela's Bolivarian Democracy: Participation, Politics and Culture under Chávez (Duke 2011).

Geoff Ramsey is WOLA’s Associate for Venezuela. He is an avid observer of the situation in Venezuela—having helped coordinate WOLA’s response to and coverage of the December 2015 legislative elections from Caracas—as well as a regular contributor to WOLA’s Venezuelan Politics and Human Rights blog.

About WOLA

WOLA is a leading research and advocacy organization advancing human rights in the Americas.

Responding to an Exodus: Venezuela’s Migration and Refugee Crisis as Seen From the Colombian and Brazilian Borders

As the political and economic crisis in Venezuela worsens, more and more Venezuelans are fleeing their country. Countries across the hemisphere are responding to the exodus, and the international community is increasingly looking for opportunities to support humane responses on the ground, particularly in neighboring Colombia and Brazil. Since the start of FY2017, the United States committed roughly $56 million in funding to governments and non-governmental groups in the regional response to Venezuela’s exodus, and has pledged to continue offering support.

The report draws from extensive research experience by WOLA’s Colombia and Venezuela programs, as well as a 10-day visit to the Venezuelan border with Colombia and Brazil in April 2018. The report includes a number of specific findings and policy recommendations, including:

Regulations and policies imposed by the Colombian government have made it difficult for Venezuelans to access much-needed humanitarian aid. This includes access to shelter, medical care, social programs, and employment opportunities essential to mitigating the risk that Venezuelans may become vulnerable to recruitment by armed criminal groups active along the border. The United States and the international community should call on Colombia to improve access to these humanitarian services, and likewise ensure that the civil society groups and international organizations responding to the crisis receive the support needed to ensure a humanitarian response to Venezuela’s forced migration crisis.

The fact that Venezuelans are arriving to areas where there are major security vacuums is a significant concern. Data by Migración Colombia shows that the top Colombian departments receiving Venezuelan migrants are Norte de Santander (18.6%) and La Guajira (16.9%). This makes them not only vulnerable to violence and exploitation but also to recruitment by illegal armed groups, in particular the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN).

Brazil has adopted a more humane response to the flow of Venezuelan migrants, but the country’s reliance on the military, rather than civilian agencies, is a major concern. Brazilian security forces are rarely held accountable for abuses against civilians, and given the already vulnerable status of Venezuelan migrants, placing the armed forces in charge of responding to the crisis raises serious human rights concerns.. The United States and the international community should call on Brazil to end its reliance on the armed forces as the primary facilitator of the national government’s response to Venezuelan migrants, and transfer all responsibilities that do not involve logistics or transportation to civilian agencies responsible for documentation, health, and social services.

The lack of documentation for Venezuelan migrants and refugees has created special challenges for those seeking to formalize their immigration status. Due to the ongoing crisis, it is difficult for most Venezuelans to obtain basic, up-to-date documentation (such as official IDs or passports) necessary for travel and, in most countries, to formally apply for residency or protected status. By implementing regulations that require Venezuelans to show documentation in order to access shelter or other services, Colombia has done little to deter Venezuelans from crossing the border into their country, and instead has only forced them into a more vulnerable position.